Simons Says
December 12, 2014
As an almost inveterate traveler – one who begins planning his next adventure to sweeten the sadness during the return trip of the current adventure – I took special note of and pleasure in this statement of Eric Simons in his book Darwin Slept Here:
“Optimism may be one of the biggest benefits of travel. When you spend all your time in a small area, trekking back and forth to work, getting all your news on the Internet, it’s easy to think the world is a lot worse off than it is. Then you get out in it, even for a short bit, and you get a summit view or find a friendly person who cares about nature just like you do, and then even when you go home, you remember: Hey, it’s not all bad. We’re really doing ok.”
When I see advertisements that promote travel as an escape, I cannot agree. For me, travel is a change from the daily routine, but it’s hardly an escape. In fact, I see more sights, hear more sounds, smell more scents and taste more flavors when I travel. I interact with countless more people – in airports, markets, parks, museums. But even moments of isolation – perhaps on a remote beach or trail – are somehow richer, more contemplative, when traveling.
It is not escape but engagement with new cultures and customs that travel causes; and it creates opportunities for personal reflection that routine obscures.
As Simons says, “Traveling connects us to the world and renews our capacity to wonder.”
Not Acting Like Grownups
December 26, 2015
Take a look at Fox Sports Detroit today, the second of two days replaying the 2015 MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field.
What I’d like you to see – what I’m most proud of – is the behavior of the players.
Score a touchdown? Then hand the ball to the official, without any childish end zone dancing.
Sack the quarterback? Then head back to the huddle, without any ridiculous pointing and prancing.
So different from the professional game.
But sadly, some of that bad behavior is settling to the college level; and sometimes, there’s even a hint of it in our high school games.
But for now, the players behaving most maturely are the youngest, and behaving least maturely are the oldest.